Blanchard Railroad Week in Review, Fourth Quarter 2020

The Railroad Week in Review:
Fourth Quarter 2020

[No Week in Review December 25]

Week in Review December 18
Genesee & Wyoming plans to shut down its Huron Central Railway in Canada in June; carloads are roughly half what they were when they began operations in 1997. Morgan Stanley downgrades CSX on coal yet coal is a rapidly shrinking part of total revs, exactly as CSX has planned. Amazon boxes ride the rails before they are stuffed with goods; Watco’s Eastern Idaho RR handles the raw material for making and assembling the boxes. Alabama Export Railroad wins export plastics transload in Mobile, AL.

Week in Review December 11
New Orleans Gulf Coast Railway (NOGC) wins $8.2 mm CRISI for bridge rehabs and other projects. Louisville & Indiana RR teams up with American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) to open RiverRail Terminal in Jeffersonville in 2Q2021. North American revenue unit counts for November from the AAR’s Rail Time Indicators. RJ Corman LNG facility in Penna moves forward.

Week in Review December 4
AAR North American revenue units down two percent compared with the same week last year; intermodal units increased 12 percent compared with last year; total Week 47 NA carloads and intermodal boxes were off eight percent vs. a year ago. CSX inks definitive agreement to acquire New England’s Pan Am Railways; no comment on price. Railinc publishing monthly carload commodity tables; link. CP and Hapag-Lloyd extend their Port of Saint John rail service agreement to the end of 2025.

[No Week in Review November 27]

Week ending November 20
Anacostia’ s Pacific Harbor Lines to take delivery of new battery-powered six axle locomotive from Progress/Caterpillar. AAR total North American revenue units for Week 46 ending November 14 declined eight percent year-over-year; merchandise carloads (no coal, auto or intermodal) declined six percent and represented 35 percent of total units. Trying on $700 mm price tag for Pan Am Rail. Kevin Shuba moves up to Broe Group from OmniTRAX CEO. Sometimes you have to look back to look forward -- NYC Flexi-Van as model for shortline block-swapping?

Week ending November 13
NS writes the STB to express its concern with what appears to be a discussion between Pan Am Railways and CSX about “establishing a voting trust with regard to the acquisition of Pan Am.” BNSF 3Q revenue $5.2 billionon 2.4 million revenue units, down 8% from last year’s 2.7 million; merchandise carloads down 14% as industrial products dropped 25% and agricultural products gained one percent. Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs will acquire all six of ArcelorMittal’s railroads. Wells Fargo railroad analysts host call with former STB Chair Dan Elliot; among the topics discussed were service-related issues and impacts stemming from the election outcome. Following the ownership trail of Pioneer Rail Co.

Week ending November 6

Week ending October 30

Week ending October 23

Week ending October 16

Week ending October 9

Week ending October 2

THE BLANCHARD COMPANY
2041 Christian Street - Philadelphia PA 19146-1338 (215) 985-1110 voice - (215) 985-1446 fax
Roy Blanchard, rblanchard@rblanchard.com
Laura Blanchard, lblanchard@rblanchard.com